Former Canmore daycare owner exonerated of child abuse charges

The site of Canmore's former Dragonfly Daycare, now called Mountain Munchkin Daycare, was closed after owner Susan Preece was charged in 2010 with seven counts of assaulting children. On April 3, 2013, a judge dismissed all charges against Preece. Russ Ullyot/QMI Agency

Links

Wednesday’s ruling by Canmore provincial court Judge E. J. Creighton may give Susan Lee Preece back her name, but no court can ever give the former daycare owner back her life.

That was shattered the minute Canmore RCMP charged Preece with seven counts of assaulting children at her Dragonfly Daycare — charges a judge has now condemned as a plot to ruin the woman’s life and business.

“They set out to destroy Mrs. Preece and in so doing destroyed her business, her reputation and her right to a life free of this type of harassment,” reads the judge’s verdict.

It’s a scathing condemnation of the shoddy case brought against Preece in 2010, but charges dismissed can’t undo the damage.

These women, who ganged up to accuse their employer of a heinous crime, succeeded — and “not guilty” won’t change that.

Accused by her staff of hurting children and charged by cops who failed to see through the flimsy stories of abuse, Preece lost everything.

Her reputation in tatters, Preece was forced to sell the daycare at a major loss, and then she and her husband had to flee Canmore, Preece having been branded a child abuser in the court of public opinion.

“I believe these individuals colluded to bring forth these allegations with the objective that Mrs. Preece would be held criminally responsible for the allegations,” reads the verdict.

“I find the conduct of these individuals (the former employees) to be vindictive, abhorrent and egregious. Their conduct is shameful.”

That conduct, according to the judge, was rooted in a plot to take over the daycare: with Preece out of the way, the seven co-workers and friends could take over operations, or at least open their own daycare to replace Dragonfly.

Bramble says the judge’s ruling, which calls her the “ringleader” in the plot to displace Preece, was “extremely hurtful”.

“The allegations made in the judge’s statements are devastating — that’s not true. We just wanted to do the right thing for the children,” said Bramble.

According to the 27-page ruling, typical daycare events were embellished or exaggerated to make it appear Preece was an abusive tyrant.

But the allegations, at their worst, were accusations of the owner forcing children to lie down in bed, or roughly moving the kids around — and though Preece denied any of it was true, her lawyer argued that most of charges were things parents do at home every day.

“It is alleged in Count #6 that the accused assaulted (the child) by ‘shoving the soother back into her mouth’” reads one typically questionable charge.

But as it turns out, that defence tactic was unnecessary.

All seven allegations against Preece were dismissed as unproven, thanks to flimsy, contradictory testimony that fell apart in cross examination, as detailed in Creighton’s ruling.

Questions, of course, have to be asked — but on Wednesday, no one was answering.

Somehow, despite putting together a case that easily unravelled in trial, both RCMP and the Crown decided this was worth pursuing in court.

Canmore’s RCMP refused to comment, either about the case they brought against Preece in 2010, or the possibility of charges against the seven women who triggered the arrest. Alberta Justice didn’t return calls.

Preece’s lawyer, Dale Fedorchuk, says a lawsuit may not be possible, given that the allegations were made directly to Child and Family Services and then police — but he does plan to seek compensation for the $30,000 his client spent defending herself.

He also questions how allegations so frail ended up ruining a woman’s livelihood and reputation.

“At some point, someone should have taken a cold hard look at the statements being made to RCMP, and determined whether there was something suspicious going on,” said Fedorchuk.

“Who is responsible, I can’t say — but someone should have taken a hard look at this.”

Wednesday’s ruling by Canmore provincial court Judge E. J. Creighton may give Susan Lee Preece back her name, but no court can ever give the former daycare owner back her life.

That was shattered the minute Canmore RCMP charged Preece with seven counts of assaulting children at her Dragonfly Daycare — charges a judge has now condemned as a plot to ruin the woman’s life and business.

“They set out to destroy Mrs. Preece and in so doing destroyed her business, her reputation and her right to a life free of this type of harassment,” reads the judge’s verdict.

It’s a scathing condemnation of the shoddy case brought against Preece in 2010, but charges dismissed can’t undo the damage.

These women, who ganged up to accuse their employer of a heinous crime, succeeded — and “not guilty” won’t change that.